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It all makes sense! Groundhog Day: The Movie was, in fact, a videogame

I make a point to watch Groundhog Day on the titular holiday, and I bet I’m not alone. This year, accentuate your viewing experience with the knowledge that Bill Murray was trying to level up all along.

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The wiki tvtropes.org features a persuasive argument for Groundhog Day as a videogame. The evidence, forthwith:

The player could end the loop at any time. He just wants to get the “Good ending“, and keeps reloading the game at a save point (or possibly using save states). Like any player, he remembers his mistakes from last time and can try something different this time. Phil isn’t in a timeloop, it’s just the in-game explanation for why he can live the same day over and over and remember all previous iterations. The entire story is a massive case of Save Scumming.

The conceit makes sense of Phil’s onslaught of self-death midway through the film, too. Dude was just creatively rage-quitting.

This also explains the sudden burst of suicide. The player was probably frustrated by how hard the game was proving and engaged in a little therapeutic cruelty by ramming their character into every hazard they could think of.

Happy Groundhog Day [tomorrow], one and all.

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Jon Irwin teaches college writing in Atlanta, GA. A long-time contributor to Kill Screen, his essays and criticism have appeared in Billboard, Down East, GamePro, and Paracinema. Jon's first book, Super Mario Bros. 2, was published by Boss Fight Books in 2014.